The present invention relates generally to loose fill packing materials or xe2x80x9cdunnage,xe2x80x9d as these materials are sometimes referred to. Traditionally these materials have often been supplied in the form of pre-expanded packing xe2x80x9cchips,xe2x80x9d such as plastic xe2x80x9cpeanuts.xe2x80x9d More specifically, the invention relates to: (1) compact sheets of chip precursors which can be shipped and stored more economically and (2) packing chips which can be formed by folding or expanding the chip precursors at the place where the packing chips will be used.
Experience indicates that a packing material must have a number of important attributes including:
1. Cushioning Properties:
The packaging material must provide cushioning for packaged items to protect them during shipment. The cushioning must dissipate or diffuse the shock loads imposed on the packaging container (typically a xe2x80x9cboxxe2x80x9d) during shipment so that those loads are not applied to the packaged item directly. It is also important that the packaging material have high rebound characteristics (within its usable range) so that it can continue to provide cushioning, as loads are repeatedly applied. Different items packed for shipment may require different degrees of stiffness to adequately protect them.
2. Blocking and Bracing Properties:
The ability of the packaging material to xe2x80x9cblock and bracexe2x80x9d refers to its capability to prevent movement of the packaged item within the container so that the packaging can cushion that item. If a packed item is allowed to move against the wall of the container, with no cushioning in between, then it will be directly subjected to any shock loads applied to the outside of the box adjacent that location.
3. Ease of Use:
The packing material must be easy to use in order to minimize the labor required to pack an item. In particular, the packing material should be capable of being easily and quickly positioned around the packed item.
4. Storage of packaging materials:
The physical form that a packaging material is stored in is an important attribute. Packaging materials generally fall into two categories:
a) xe2x80x9cPre-expandedxe2x80x9d materialsxe2x80x94like plastic peanuts or bubble sheetsxe2x80x94are supplied by the manufacturer to the packager in final form.
b) xe2x80x9cExpand-on-sitexe2x80x9d materials are supplied to the packager in a dense, un-expanded condition. The packaging is expanded into its final form at the packager""s site. Prior art systems have utilized inflation, or wadding and crumpling to produce expanded packaging from flat materials. The formation of foam packaging on site may also be included in this category of expand-on-site materials. Expansion ratios vary from about 10:1 for wadded Kraft paper cushioning to as much as 50:1 for expanding foams. Expand-on-site materials enjoy a large advantage, since they do not occupy highly valued inventory space at the packager""s facility and have much lower costs for shipping to the packager.
5. Economics:
The packaging material must be competitive in price with other materials that provide the same level of protection. Labor and shipping charges (to get the material to the packager) can be a significant percentage of the total cost-of packaging products. Pre-expanded materials necessarily entail higher shipping charges than expand-on-site materials whose useful volume is created at the packager.
6. Creation of Dust:
The packaging material must not create dust or other debris that will stick to the packaged item and make it unsightly for the recipient. This is a particular problem with uncompressed materials molded from a cellulose slurry that have rough surfaces and edges from which small particles will be separated in the course of normal handling and use.
7. Density:
The packaging material must be as lightweight as possible to minimize shipping charges for the packaged item. Generally, these shipping charges are based on the weight of the package and its contents.
8. Environmental Friendliness:
Packaging materials made from plastics or toxic, two-part, expanding foams have a disadvantage in the marketplace as compared to paper-based products, because they do not quickly biodegrade in the same environmentally friendly way that paper based products do. In addition, recipients of packaged items generally prefer paper-based packaging due to the negative environmental image of plastic based materials.
9. xe2x80x9cFlowabilityxe2x80x9d and Associated Side-effects:
Flowable packaging materials, such as plastic xe2x80x9cpeanuts,xe2x80x9d are in wide use today, because they substantially reduce labor costs associated with packing. Highly xe2x80x9cflowablexe2x80x9d packaging materials may be poured and placed into a shipping container quickly. They also do not require wrapping, taping or other labor-intensive operations as with many other packing materials. However, flowables (i.e., loose format packaging materials) have not provided adequate blocking and bracing characteristics. Plastic peanuts, for example, exhibit good cushioning properties, but have such poor blocking and bracing characteristics that the packaged item moves around in the container or box. When the packaged item reaches a wall of the container, it is no longer protected by the packaging material and is susceptible to being broken when the package receives an external blow. By definition, xe2x80x9cflowablesxe2x80x9d flow easily into the box during packing, but also flow inside the box after packing, allowing movement of the packaged item. The exception to this are E-Cubes(copyright) packing chips, which are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,119. E-Cubes(copyright) packing chips were the first flowable packaging material that had good blocking and bracing properties. This was accomplished with a combination of shape and texture which permits interlocking of the chips after they are placed around a packaged item.
No packing material commercially utilized to date has satisfied all of these characteristics. In summary, the ideal packaging product would:
1. Be a flowable to make packing fast and economical;
2. Have good cushioning and blocking and bracing properties;
3. Be an expand-on-site type material using simple reliable machinery;
4. Be made from recycled paper and be recyclable to protect the environment;
5. Minimize the costs of shipping both to the packager and the recipient of a packaged item; and
6. Be clean so that dust or other debris are not generated during use and are not transferred to the item being shipped.
A new packaging material has been invented that has all of these characteristics. The packaging is a flowable and is made from a material commonly known as xe2x80x9cchipboard.xe2x80x9d Chipboard is produced by paper mills worldwide and is usually comprised of 100% recycled content. The chipboard is modified into an expand-on-site packaging material by adding fold lines, cutouts, perforations and/or perforation lines to the flat chipboard. Binding media, e.g., an adhesive, may also be pre-applied to appropriate portions of the expand-on-site material. The modified chipboard can be stacked, rolled or fan-folded for shipment to the packager. This significantly reduces transportation costs and customer inventory space/cost requirements.
When the packager wishes to use the expand-on-site material, it removes the appropriate quantity of chip precursors from inventory, folds or expands the precursors into the shape of the packaging material and secures it in that shape. These steps can be performed manually or by machine. In either method appropriate portions of the expand-on-site precursor material are separated from the other intermediates and are formed it into the final shape of the packaging material. Adhesive on mating sections of each chip is activated to hold the material in its final shape. The assembly may be done at or near the actual packaging station where the packaging material will be placed around an item to be shipped in its shipping container. The chips could also be supplied to the packager pre-expanded and ready for use.
The invention described herein relates to an improved, expand-on-site packaging material in its intermediate (i.e., precursor) and final (i.e., expanded) forms and the methods of making both the expand-on-site and expanded materials.